Broken Dreams In The Ephemeral Twilight
by Misbegotten Misfit
Summary: Things aren't the same as they used to be for the Guardians. The battles are getting harder and more dangerous. Friendships are tested, relationships will be pushed to the brink, and more than a few dreams will be shattered. Things should get better though, shouldn't they? We can only hope...
1. Chapter 1

**Misfit: my first shug0 chara st0ry! **

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_Sirens blared and flashing red and blue lights shone brightly against the black night sky. It was blinding. The sound was deafening. Yes, that's probably why he couldn't hear. He must have gone deaf. Nagihiko Fujisaki watched the scene in front of him, completely frozen. He couldn't even feel his body anymore. It was as if he were stuck to his spot watching a silent movie. The paramedics moved around inside the blocked off area. All that was between the public and the grisly scene was a line of caution tape and a few police officers. Broken, bleeding bodies were being moved into ambulances to be taken to the emergency room. The medics white uniforms turned red as they worked. Red. Everything was red. Crimson was everywhere, painting the street with its vile existence. Nagi's eyes widened as one of the paramedics picked up a small girl whose long blond hair dripped blood from the wound on her head. The next was a different girl, this one with pink hair. One of her "x" clips clung to her ponytail for dear life as the hospital worker placed her on a stretcher and she was moved into the ambulance._

_"Nagi…" Rhythm's voice said, pulling his mind away from what lay in front of him._

_He didn't see Rhythm, but he knew he was there and saw everything. Nagihiko had completely forgotten that he was still in his character transformation. He began to tremble as guilt and pain finally set in. Tears began to fall as he suddenly turned and ran away from everything that's happened that night._

* * *

"Hey Nagi!" Yaya shouted as she ran up to him. She dragged Rima with her and only stopped when she reached him.

"Good morning, Yaya-chan, Mashiro-san." He greeted the two.

Rima 'hmmph'ed and proceeded to enter the school building. He sighed.

Tadase joined them, "Morning, Fujisaki-kun, Yaya-chan."

"Morning, Tadase-kun. Is Amu-chan here yet?" Nagi replied.

The blond boy shook his head, "No, she's going to be in later. She had an appointment this morning."

"What?! Amu-chii's not here?" Yaya said, disappointed.

"If we don't hurry we'll be late-dechu." Pepe said with a sigh.

Yaya raced inside, leaving Tadase and Nagihiko behind. The two walked toward the building.

"Is Temari with you?" Tadase asked.

Nagi shook his head and responded, "No. She's at home. Its nice having her back, I just wish she could be out with everybody else. It's unfair that she's paying the price for my secret."

Tadase nodded in understanding and the boys made their way to class.

* * *

Amu walked into the royal garden and greeted all her friends and they greeted her in return. Soon enough they were all seated around the table drinking tea.

"How did your appointment go, Amu-chan?" Nagi asked.

She sipped her tea and said, "It went well. I had to get three fillings, but it wasn't that bad."

"Is that why you were crying so much?" Ran asked.

"Ran!" Amu shouted.

Rima giggled and the bickering. Then the little blond looked at her watched and said, "I have to go."

Amu turned her attention to Rima, "Go?"

"Yes. I'm babysitting the neighbor tonight." Rima stated.

"Oh… ok." Amu replied.

Rima left and the others chatted idly. Yaya went home next, then Amu and Tadase. The last one left was Nagihiko. He picked up the dishes and prepared to head home. The sun was setting already as he exited the Royal Garden and found his way off school grounds.

"They all left you already."

Nagi turned to face the person who'd just spoken. He was surprised to see Ikuto leaning against the wall.

"They didn't 'leave me', they just went home early. It's not that big of a deal." Nagihiko stated.

Ikuto raised an eyebrow, "Really? You're not upset at all that you seem to be left behind when the more important Guardians run off to save the day."

"I-" Nagi began.

Ikuto walked up to him, stood right in front of him, looked down at the blue haired boy and continued, "It doesn't bother you in the least that you do all the planning, know exactly what to do, and then they take all the credit? Well then, you're a better man than I am…"

Ikuto smirked and walked away, leaving Nagi to think about what he was just told.

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**s0, what'd y0u think? read and review. its a little sh0rt because i want y0ur 0pini0ns bef0re i g0 int0 a full st0ry. things t0 c0me if i c0ntinue: p0ssible character death, return 0f 0ur 0nly Mystery Chara, a new character transf0rmati0n, Ikut0, an explanti0n f0r 0ut flash-f0rward in the beginning 0f the chapter, and abs0lutely N0 0CS! **


	2. Chapter 2

**i. wr0te. an0ther. chapter. *ducks behind c0mputer t0 pr0tect self fr0m being sh0t by f0ll0wers.***

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"Nagi! Earth to Nagi!"

Nagihiko sat up with a start, "huh?"

Everybody was staring at him with worried looks on their faces.

"Are you feeling alright, Fujisaki-kun?" Tadase asked, concern in his voice.

Nagi forced a smile and said, "Y-Yeah. I'm fine. It's just been a long day."

It was a lie. He knew that. Nagi had been thinking about what Ikuto had told him, trying to decide if it held any merit. He didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to even consider that he might be getting taken advantage of, but Nagihiko was the type to think things through and his mind couldn't help but question his friend's intentions. Even now that he had his own charas he wasn't a very big part of the group. They seemed to take part in things without him and forget to include him. Sure, the charas took to Rhythm and they all had fun together, but the other Guardians all seemed to have their own things going on that left him out.

Rima and Yaya dragged Amu off for something that Nagihiko hadn't heard. Nagi stared down into his cup of tea, his reflection staring back at him.

"I want to tell her…" he said suddenly.

Tadase looked at him quizzically, "Tell who?"

Nagi sighed, "I want to tell Amu-chan the truth."

"Are you sure that's the best idea? You've been keeping it a secret for so long…"

Nagi shook his head, "I'm not sure how she'll react, but I have to try. I can't keep lying to her forever. It's better if I tell her as opposed to her finding out from somebody else."

"I suppose…" Tadase contemplated.

* * *

Nagihiko walked home from school by himself again, or, he walked home with a shadow at his heels. Ikuto walked behind him, matching his pace, yet not saying anything. Neither of them spoke until Nagi stopped right in front of his front gate.

"So this is where you live. I didn't think you would have this kind of home." Ikuto observed.

Nagi sighed and whipped around to face the older boy, "Why are you stalking me, Ikuto? Don't you usually hang out around Amu-chan's house?"

"Amu isn't bothered by me anymore. She doesn't give those cute reactions to my joking." The cat boy sighed.

"So you decided that you'd follow me instead?" Nagi ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"You're interesting… I can tell you're not everything you seem to be." Ikuto smirked knowingly at him.

Nagi cast his eyes to the ground and opened the gate, "I'm going inside. Have a good evening, Ikuto."

"Wait." The older boy said.

Nagihiko paused and looked back Ikuto. Instead of the confident smirk that usually played across his lips, the high schooler wore a look of worry and seemed to be trying to find the right words to say.

"What is it?" Nagi asked.

Ikuto took a moment to answer. He wasn't sure what to say without it sound completely unlike him. Eventually he managed to get over himself and he sighed, "I don't have anywhere to stay right now."

"What about Amu-chan's place?" Nagi asked, brushing a dark blue strand out of his face.

"Her parent already caught me there once. I don't think they'll be too keen on me being there again."

"Are you asking if you can stay here?"

Ikuto nodded and Nagi said, "Fine. I'll ask my mother if you can stay for a while. We have plenty of room… it shouldn't be an issue."

Nagihiko opened the gate and let Ikuto in then closed it behind them. He wasn't happy that the older boy was here, but he was too kind a person to leave him without a place. Then something occurred to him…

"Where's Yoru?"

Ikuto turned his gaze to the ground, "Away."

* * *

"That's amazing, Yua!" Cecil said happily. She was sitting on Yua's makeup stand as the girl fixed her hair and practiced her new song.

Yua smiled and said, "Thanks, Cecil!"

The two smiled at one another. Not too long ago their relationship was rocky, to say the least. Yua refused to sing and hated Cecil because she reminded her of a broken dream, but that all changed after their confusion character transformation incident. Now Yua would sing all the time and Cecil watched, feeling happy for Yua. The girl had branched off from modeling into sing too, and they were both excited for tomorrow. It was the day Yua would record her first album.

"huh?" Cecil suddenly stopped smiling and floated up. It felt like another chara was nearby.

Yua stopped what she was doing and looked at her little blond chara, "What is it?"

"I thought I felt another chara…"

There was a faint dark chuckle someplace close. Yua stood and cautiously moved toward it, careful not to make a sound. Cecil followed with worry darkening her eyes. Whoever this chara was they weren't the good kind. In their messages to Amu she'd told them about X characters. The blond hoped it wasn't something that bad. She didn't think her and Yua could handle a confrontation with an X character. They couldn't even character transform yet.

Yua and Cecil crept down the dark hall outside their dressing room. It was eerily quiet and the shadows in the dark sent foreboding shivers down their spines. Nobody was around, which wasn't unusually considering how late it was, but they still felt cold eyes on them.

"Maybe we should go back to the dressing room…" Yua said, scared and nervous.

Before Cecil could agree the intruder chara revealed herself.

"Now I'll sing 'Dark Return!'"

"Ahhh!" Yua and Cecil shouted as they were thrown back by the force of the chara's attack. Yua hit the ground while Cecil tumbled through the air. The enemy chara laughed evilly and flew off, leaving the two confused and stunned.

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**an0ther sh0rt chapter, but s0me interesting devel0pments. Review.**


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